Anything but a 'Lausy' day

Hello faithful readers! I hope that you are all enjoying following our trip blog as much as we are all enjoying the trip itself. With yesterday including a visit to the IOC headquarters, the Olympic Museum (which was on a boat!) and Research Center, as well as a group dinner at Cafe Romand, Friday had the a lot to live up to. Our day began by taking the bus into the center of town, then having a bit of a hike up to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Once there, we were able to meet with Louise Reilly, who spoke to us about the intricacies of how the organization works. She explained that a normal arbirtation case would take months or even years to be completed. However, in sport there is need for expedited hearings, as athletes and sport organization from across the globe are often placed under time constraints due to competitions, etc. CAS is able to offer this type of service, hearing cases from the world of football (soccer), such as contract disputes, etc, all the way up to having a station at the Olympic Games. Reilly spoke about several instances at the Olympics in London when CAS became involved with disputes, from doping to a referee's decision on a photo finish, each of these cases being heard and solved within 24 hours. 

After learning the in's and out's, we were able to get a tour of facility, which is actually a converted house still owned by the city of Lausanne. Reilly showed us the rooms where cases are heard, the arbitrators deliberation room, as well as the library that contains all sorts of documents about sport law from around the world. 

After our time at CAS and a group photo (surprise, surprise), Professor Ryan show us around the area, taking the bus to the Lausanne Cathedral and to the town center. While we have seen cathedrals from Notre Dame to St. Paul's, but the cathedral in Lausanne was amazing in its own right, sporting a fantastic organ and stained glass windows.

After pretty much going non-stop in London and Paris, Lausanne has been a nice break from the craizness of the cities. The setting is truly picturesque, having Lake Geneva and the Alps just outside our hotel window. The rest of Friday and Saturday, our group will have the opportunity to enjoy the surroundings, having some free time. Some of us will try to get out on Lake Geneva in some way, others taking the train to get more of the Swiss experience. So far, Lausanne has been my favorite of the cities we have visited, however I know that we are all looking forward to the warm weather that (hopefully) awaits us in Greece. 

See y'all later,

Kyle